00:00It is a truly inspirational sight, there you are driving or flying across vast stretches
00:10of flat arid desert in the southern part of Australia's Northern Territory, when out of
00:14the ground rising skywards is this huge red rock.
00:19This large sandstone formation is known as Uluru by the local aboriginals, for a long
00:26time European settlers called it Ayers Rock after Sir Henry Ayers, a former Premier of
00:32South Australia.
00:33It now officially carries both names.
00:36So what does Uluru mean?
00:38The local aboriginal people say the landmark's name has no meaning other than as a local
00:44family name.
00:45It certainly is sacred to the aboriginal people of the area and it is treasured by other Australians,
00:51so much so it has been World Heritage listed.
00:55Start exploring around the rock and you'll find a lot of features such as many springs,
01:01water holes, rock caves and ancient paintings.
01:07Any wonder Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural icons.
01:13It towers 350 metres or 1100 feet above the ground and is almost 10 kilometres or 6 miles
01:21around its base.
01:25Approximately 500 million years ago it was part of the ocean floor at the centre of Australia.
01:33Uluru extends down over three and a half miles beneath the surface.
01:39One notable feature of Uluru is how it appears to change colour as different light strikes
01:44it at different times of the day and year.
01:48Uluru is literally an island mountain, an isolated remnant left after the slow erosion
01:54of an original mountain range.
01:58It's blessed with an equally impressive neighbour, Kata Juta, or the Olgas as the Europeans call them.
02:05The peculiar rock formations of Kata Juta are about 25 kilometres or 16 miles from Uluru,
02:13with special viewing areas along the road giving tourists the best views of both sites
02:18at dawn and dusk.
02:21This group of large rock formations is made up of 36 domes and is composed of a conglomerate,
02:29a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including
02:34granite and basalt.
02:37The highest point, Mount Olga, is 550 metres above the surrounding plain, making it 200
02:43metres higher than Uluru.
02:45The Aboriginal name, Kata Juta, means many heads and the site is a sacred to the indigenous
02:51people as Uluru.
02:53Both Uluru and Kata Juta have great cultural significance for the traditional landowners,
03:00who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods
03:06and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.
03:10A variety of Aboriginal legends account for the existence of Uluru and its many cracks.
03:18Legend tells of serpent beings who waged many wars around Uluru, scouring the rock.
03:24Another myth recounts that two tribes of ancestral spirits were invited to a feast but were distracted
03:30by the beautiful sleepy lizard women and did not show up.
03:35In response, the angry hosts sang evil songs into a mud sculpture that came to life as
03:41the dingo.
03:44There followed a great battle which ended in the deaths of the leaders of both tribes.
03:49The earth itself rose up in grief at the bloodshed, becoming Uluru.
03:54It is often reported that those who take rocks from the formation will be cursed and suffer
03:59misfortune.
04:00There have been many instances where people who remove such rocks attempted to mail them
04:05back to various agencies in an attempt to remove the perceived curse.
04:11Archaeological findings to the east and west indicate that humans settled in the area more
04:16than 10,000 years ago.
04:20Europeans arrived in the Australian Western Desert in the 1870s.
04:26The first non-indigenous person to sight Kata Tjuta, the explorer Ernest Giles, saw it from
04:32a considerable distance in 1872.
04:38In addition, you may just be rewarded by seeing some of the local wildlife.
04:44There are currently 21 species of native mammals known to be living in the Uluru region, including
04:49dingoes.
04:51This Australian wild dog can be found across much of northern Australia.
04:56Here at Uluru, a dingo was at the centre of a long and highly controversial series of
05:00court cases in which a newborn baby was snatched from a tent.
05:05Lindy Azaria Chamberlain disappeared, never to be found again, with her mother initially
05:10cleared, then jailed, then cleared again.
05:13As Lindy Chamberlain declared, the final court case found that the dingo did indeed take
05:18her baby.
05:22Camels too can be found in big numbers in this area.
05:25In the late 19th century, some 12,000 camels were imported into Australia as draft and
05:30riding animals by people travelling to the dry interior.
05:34Camels since thrived in this harsh environment, with the current population estimated to be
05:39as many as 500,000.
05:44Deadly snakes can be found in the desert surrounding Uluru.
05:48There's the inland taipan, the most venomous of all snakes.
05:52The small but well-camouflaged death adder.
05:56The western brown snake, full of paralysing venom.
06:00And the aggressive king brown, full of more venom than any other Australian snake.
06:07Then there's the small and well-camouflaged thorny devil that thrive in the arid scrub
06:12and desert of Central Australia.
06:14They're just 20 centimetres or 8 inches long and are covered with conical spikes.
06:22There are also many rare and endemic plants at Uluru and Kata Juta.
06:26Take a walk around Uluru and you'll find the most beautiful desert flowers in full bloom.
06:32The flora found here is representative of most plants found in Central Australia.
06:38A number of these species are considered rare and restricted in the park or the immediate
06:42region.
06:43The growth and reproduction of plant communities rely on irregular rainfall.
06:49The park receives an annual rainfall of just 300 millimetres or 12 inches a year, with
06:55temperatures rising to 45 degrees centigrade or 113 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer.
07:02These days, more than 400,000 visitors travel to Uluru each year.
07:07They are asked not to photograph certain sections of Uluru because of traditional Aboriginal
07:12beliefs.
07:13Uluru and Kata Juta are 450 kilometres or 280 miles southwest of the nearest large
07:20town, Alice Springs.
07:24Just how impressive an outback landmark Uluru is, can be seen when the moon rises.
07:33This massive rock illuminated at night.
07:37Uluru, one of Australia's greatest national treasures.
